Saturday, April 17, 2010

Oh my...it's less than 24 hours until I have to get on a plane to China and I have yet to start packing. You might say I like to do things last minute ;p. With that in mind, you shouldn't be surprised when I tell you next that I'm tardy for this month'sCupcake Herochallenge, which asked us to take our baking inspiration from either of 2 wonderfully creative cupcake decorating books by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, Hello, Cupcake! or What's New, Cupcake?.

The design for my halloween pumpkin cupcakes last fall came from Hello, Cupcake!, so I already knew this as a treasure trove of unique ideas. After then eying (har har ^_^) their owl cupcakes for months, it took but an instant for me to decide on them for this challenge. I did put my own spin on their recipe and re-tooled the directions, so be sure to read on if you want my version.

Since I already had to buy Oreo cookies for the owl "eyes," I figured I might as well step it up another notch by adding them to the batter. On the other hand, I saw no need to pipe frosting on these already-darling ears, so I (gladly, since it was 2 a.m. by that point) dropped that part with no ill effect that I can tell.

My friend Kelly, upon discovering what the cupcake fairy had left in her office, even exclaimed this was "seriously the cutest thing" she'd ever seen and that she enjoyed its adorable stare. Cupcake.Win XD. To balance out tootin' my own horn hehe and because they're truly charming and creative, I recommend you check out this round-up I found of other owl cupcakes.

XIAOLU'S NOTES: The number of cookies listed below for decoration is if you split and cut the cookies perfectly every time. It's tougher than it looks, but gets easier the more you do it. Even so, I'd have more on hand just in case. An entire regular-sized package of Oreo cookies was enough for me for the batter AND decorations. Splitting the cookies is the most time-consuming part of the recipe but is most important to the final appearance. Since the ganache frosting can set fairly quickly, I recommend having all the toppings ready when you begin frosting, then decorating each cupcake right after frosting rather than going back once you've frosted the batch.

Split the sandwich cookies in half crosswise, keeping the cream side hole (microwaving 5 cookies at a time for 3-5 seconds helps to keep the cream side solid). [I found my frosting spatula split the cookies most cleanly.] Use the dull side of a paring knife to remove any excess crumbs from cream filling and to smooth the sides of filling that has shifted during splitting.

Collect the remaining sides of the cookies without cream to use for the ears. Make 2 parallel cuts with a serrated knife in these cookies 1/2 inch from each rounded side, discarding the 1/2 inch strip that remains from the center of the cookie.

Pair up the cream sided cookie halves so that those with similar amounts of cream are together. Gently push Junior Mints into the cream of each, but don't push too hard or you'll squish the mint. [Play around with different positions to give each "owl" its own expression and personality :).]

Use a small spoon or spatula to smooth chocolate ganache frosting onto the tops of the cooled cupcakes. Place the cream sided cookies, cream side up, on the middle of the cupcakes, making sure that the eyes are oriented the way you want. Push gently to make sure they've adhered to the frosting.

To make the ears, attach the cut cream-less cookies to the cupcakes above the "eyes", textured side facing up and round edges inward. These should hang over the edge of the cupcakes, but be sure to press them into the frosting where possible to make sure they adhere well.

Lastly, press M&M candies [standing them up on their sides] between and slightly below the cookie "eyes" as beaks. Show them off to everyone XD!

Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK). Gently fold in chopped cookies.

Fill liners 3/4 full with batter. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Combine the chocolate and cream in a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Try to submerge the chocolate as much as possible, but it's okay to have some above the cream. Microwave the mixture on medium for 1 minute. Stir and heat again in 15-second increments, stirring thoroughly each time, until fully melted. Stir in corn syrup. Let this cool and thicken (in the fridge if needed) before using. If it cools too much, reheat in the microwave at 5-second intervals until it softens to the consistency you want.

To-whit to-whoo ... these are far too C U T E!!! I have never seen such pretty and adorable cupcakes. My hub just left for a flight to HKG> Looks like everyones headed the China way after Europe's airspace is shut! LOL!!

These are SOOOOOOOOOOO cute oh my goodness!!! I love them. And I'm currently obsessed with owl things so I love them even more!!! Oh if only I could have owl cupcakes for my wedding cake, that would be fantastic. Have an awesome time in China!

They turned out pretty good! I had a hard time with the Oreos though - thankfully I bought two packs. Probably about 90% of the Oreos were broken or cracked! Made splitting them really difficult! Hmph.

OMG do I love you or do I love you! I am planning to make a 1st birthday cake for one of my friends' baby girl and her mom is crazy about owls and I was googling oreo ways to make owls and you have already done it making my work so much easier (I dont know how I missed you posting about this!)- this is such a great way to top the cake with a few oreo owls!

Thanks for this recipe and all the tips to make this funny litle owls ;)I made them and all my family loved them! You can see my little owls on my blog today: http://www.cuisine-addict.com/article-chouette-cupcakes-aux-oreos-80438360.htmlThanks a lot!

Love these and just did them for a party! The kids went crazy and so did the parents! I put mine on my blog and linked back to you with credit to your blog and you by name: http://www.withglitteringeyes.com/2012/02/whooooo-is-having-birthday-owl-tell-you.html

Hi Soh! Thanks for your question. I baked the night before I took the cupcakes to work, so I think baking early is fine. Please do realize that the cookies won't be as crisp as just eating the cookies from the package since it will be in contact with ganache. However, if you let the ganache set (cool) a bit on the top of the cupcakes before putting the cookies on top, that should help minimize the softening. Good luck and I'd love to see a photo of the cupcakes you make =D. -XL

I just wanted to interject here that I've just tried using the bargain brand Oreo-type cookies for this, and I'm having to stop and make a trip to the store now because there is so little icing in the ones I have that they cannot be used for decorating. Just a head's-up....name brand matters for decorating. ;)